Review for Michèle Raffaele’s album “Minor Offender”

A refined and elegant sound is what stands out while listening to Michèle Raffaele’s first EP “Minor Offender”. Timeless songs, designed to live off their own intense light. “Lady Maybe” is a soft piece, which oozes jazz. Michèle’s voice is fascinating and the piano music hypnotic. “Remember Me Next Sunday” seems to tell about a lost gaze, a deserted street, where other people’s eyes get lost. It’s dust, and paradise. Like notes delivered on cobbles, like still dreams in an abandoned station.

It’s a train that isn’t there “Minor Offender” is a song which carries the echo of faraway music, the air that starts burning. Music that is ready to get on the stage, a long wait, yet relentless like the notes that break the silence going beyond the curtains. “Superior” is light, as if it takes flight with the strength and power of a voice and music which enchant, creating a melodious effect. In “Montreal…je reviendrai”, in the elegance of a sound which fills everything, Michèle’s speaks about returning home, something as longed for as it is bitter, as desired as it is elusive. A tip of something immense gets closer slowly between the notes. This recording is an important work, we can perceive the preparation behind it and the skills as well as the technique which supports these pieces and the jazz imprint which enriches everything. Excellent vocal technique and a perfect piano performance make every song ethereal. Songs which should be listened over and over. Very beautiful.